Cody Rhodes is highly rumoured to be appearing at year’s two-night WrestleMania 38 extravaganza. According to whispers around the company, he will be the opponent for Seth Rollins at this year’s show. Reports came out a couple of weeks ago that Rhodes has signed with WWE.
Cody wrestled under WWE before forming AEW. In 2006, he signed a development deal with World Wrestling Entertainment. After a year in OVW (Ohio Valley Wrestling), the two time Georgia state champion made his debut on the main roster.
Much like John Cena and Brock Lesnar, Cody also started wrestling under his real name. Although he never became a household name in the biggest wrestling company in the world, Cody won a lot of championships under the WWE umbrella.
He had a lengthy run as the Intercontinental champion. Aside from that, Cody is also a 6-time tag team champion. In the latter half of his career, he developed a new gimmick called ‘Stardust’. Rhodes had a very memorable feud with actor Stephen Amell who is famous for playing the role of DC comics character Arrow in a TV show.
Rhodes always had the dream of being in the main event of the show. Hence he was not happy with being placed in the mid-card. After falling out with the company, Cody requested to be released from the company in 2016. After leaving, he wrestled around the circuits.
Cody made several appearances in TNA, Ring of Honor (ROH), IWGP, and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). Throughout his appearances across smaller promotions, Cody collected a lot of championship belts. He was the Six-Man Tag-Team Champion alongside The Young Bucks. This alliance proved fruitful down the line.
Cody Rhodes formed All Elite Wrestling (AEW) along with Tony Khan
Ever since WCW went out of business, WWE has been the undisputed king of wrestling promotions. Although promotions such as TNA (Impact) and ROH have been around for a long period of time now, they never reached the levels to challenge the domination of WWE. Outside North American companies could not make their mark on US soil despite many efforts.
That changed in 2018 as Cody Rhodes along with The Young Bucks held the biggest non-WWE wrestling event in the United States of America. The event was called ‘All In’ and all of the hottest free agents in the market participated in the show. It reportedly sold out the entire area in Chicago.
It was the first step toward the formation of what fans now know as All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The owners of the NFL franchise Jacksonville Jaguars, Tony Khan and his billionaire father Shahid Khan came in contact with Rhodes and Young Bucks. In a matter of months, Khan announced the formation of the promotion on January 1 of 2019. Rhodes became the Executive Vice President of the company shortly afterwards. During an interview with ESPN, Rhodes spoke on how it all came about. He added,
“A lot of what happened stemmed from me, Matt and Nick [Jackson, The Young Bucks] doing All In. We have just the time of our lives and get a lot of great what I guess I call “consumer feedback” from fans for Starrcast, Conrad Thompson’s event, and our event All In. It just seemed to be this kind of renaissance, Woodstock for wrestling, and I just had the idea of, “What if we did this more? What if we did this quarterly or what if we potentially did this weekly?” Everyone said you can’t do that, and I don’t believe that.”
“The wrestling I grew up on was that every week. It filled your soul up with the goodness. And Tony was somebody who we discussed initially investing in a sequel show. Once I was no longer under contract to Ring of Honor, which was about two months before Final Battle, that’s when we started to get into the weeds a bit on that and talk about the opportunity that exists out there.”
Who are Cody’s father Dusty Rhodes and brother Dustin Rhodes?
Cody belongs to an elite Wrestling family. He is the son of pro-wrestling royalty Dusty Rhodes. Nicknamed ‘The American Dream’, Dusty Rhodes has worked for many promotions. He made a name for himself during his run in NWA. Following that, he had stints with WWE (then WWF), WCW and ECW. Rhodes’ ‘hard times’ promo is still regarded as one of the greatest promos of all time.
Dusty Rhodes passed away on June 10 of 2015. He suffered from kidney ailments during his final years. Following his passing, WWE paid a touching tribute to him on its Money In The Bank PPV and subsequent shows afterwards. Remembering his father in December of 2019, Cody tweeted,
Wondered why I was having such an introspective day. Then I saw Starrcade was happening
Gone from this Earth but undeniably Dad has had such a positive influence on pro-wrestling the last few years
It’s wonderful. He believed in making moments that lasted. Live forever Dream!????
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) December 1, 2019
Dustin Rhodes is the elder half-brother of Cody. He is most famous for his gimmick ‘Goldust’. It was truly one of the bizarre and infamous gimmicks of all time. He has an extended run in WWE. Dustin is currently under contract with AEW.
Although Cody has left the Tony Khan-led promotion, he does not hold any grudge toward Dustin for staying with the company. Following the departure of Cody and his wife, Dustin wished them all the best. He wrote,
I love my brother (Cody Rhodes). I love my sister in law (Brandi Rhodes). Whatever they decide to do in life, I support 110%. I am sad that they are gone, but the fucking train keeps moving.”
Cody Rhodes’ wife Bradi Rhodes and their kids
Cody Rhodes is married to Brandi Rhodes. The couple first met during their initial stints at WWE. They got married in 2013 after dating for a significant period of time. In solidarity with her husband, Brandi too left WWE in 2016 shortly after Cody. After a few appearances on indie promotions, She joined AEW alongside her husband.
She has worked both as a professional wrestler and a ring announcer. Brandi was a professional figure skater prior to venturing into pro wrestling. She also has two educational degrees. Rhodes was a news broadcaster for a period of time. Hence, she completed her Bachelor’s degree and Masters’s degree from the University of Michigan and the University of Miami respectively.
She and Cody have an adorable daughter together. They gave birth to a baby girl on June 18 last year and named their child Liberty Iris Runnels.
After leaving AEW last year, there was a lot of speculation on what his next move will be. While some predicted he may sign with WWE, others still hoped that he re-signs with AEW. However, according to recent reports, he will show up at this year’s WrestleMania 38 and face Seth Rollins.
